Migration at Jamaica Bay

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Happy Wednesday everybody! It is starting to get cold in New York City, but we have had some nice sunny days too. On Saturday, it was chilly, but it wasn't bad enough to keep me indoors. So, Sophie and I went with my parents on a walk at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. If you're a long time reader of my blog, you know my family likes to go there all the time. Violet had a bit of a cold so she stayed home to read and watch Harriet the Spy.

Jamaica Bay has a loop trail that goes around a freshwater pond. Just on the other side of the pond is Jamaica Bay. In this photo you can see the beach behind me. Off in the distance is a neighborhood called Broad Channel. Lots of birds are migrating right now, so it's a great time to visit the wildlife refuge.

All along the path, there are different bushes and trees. Since the wildlife refuge is a great place to bird watch, there are lots of benches and areas where you can stop to observe all the wildlife. Sophie and I liked this little spot. You can't see it in the picture, but we were looking at an osprey nest. American Ospreys fly as far away as South America for the winter; they had already left so the nest was empty.

Can you see the pond behind me in this photo? There are tons of ducks and geese using the pond as a stopping point on their migration. We even saw four big, white swans relaxing near the shore. Sophie and I sat and watched the birds for a long time. Suddenly, something startled them and they flew off into the air at once! There were hundreds of birds! I wonder how they pick who will be the leader?

I'm glad I had the chance to take Sophie to Jamaica Bay before all the birds fly away. Do you have migrating birds in your neighborhood? Which ones have you seen this fall?

5 comments

I have not been anywhere special to see birds, but lately at our bird bath we have had gold finches, house finches, vesper sparrows and a robin. There is a house finch that sleeps in a nest left by the phoebes on a ledge on our back porch!